Food Bank Friday! November 28, 2008!

[ColbertWatcher]

News

Many media outlets are http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&tab=wn&ned=us&nolr=1&q=food+banks+demand+up&btnG=Search">reporting that many food banks across the country are running out of food.

Nearly 30 million people are receiving food stamps in the U.S. (http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&tab=wn&ned=us&nolr=1&q=food+stamps+30+million&btnG=Search">Google news search)

Needs your immediate attention

Also, don't forget people at the http://friendsofpineridgereservation.org/projects/Winter_Coats_and_Electric_Heaters.shtml">Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota. They're looking for winter coats and space heaters. Please help any way you can.

Some donation ideas

* donate money DUer peace13 reminds us that if a food bank accepts money, they can get food in bulk

* "adopt" a food bank item and replenish it whenever it runs low (posted by DUer girl gone mad)

* donate birthday or holiday "kits" (DUer Rabrrrrrr)

* support Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) http://www.chiron-communications.com/farms.html

* donate to Second Harvest http://www.feedingamerica.org/?show_nce=1

* Gleaning OurVotesCount-Ohio
reminds us that "(t)here are organizations that glean fields and deliver the foods to shelters and other charitable organizations that help the needy."

* Find and donate "free after rebate" items offered by many stores http://www.salescircular.com/

* Christmas Tip (adapted from a suggestion by DUer central scrutinizer's Thanksgiving Day tip: many grocery stores offer cheap frozen turkeys - as low as $.19 per pound - if you buy over a certain amount, often $75 or $100. I take advantage of this to get a big turkey for a really low price and donate it to the food bank.

Support your local cooperative extension service

* From the extension links in this section, donate all the items to complete one of the recipes (print out and donate copies of the recipe, too!)

* Donate recipe books (or other publications on nutrition) from your local cooperative extension service (Most states cooperative extensions services have all kinds of things available)

Also, after a quick google search for "cooperative extension service recipe," here are three of the top links:

* The University of Nebraska-Lincoln Recipe Central http://lancaster.unl.edu/food/recipe.shtml#basic">Basic Foods From Fridge, Freezer and Cupboard, including a single-page http://lancaster.unl.edu/FOOD/BasicFoodsforCupboard.pdf">list of ingredients (pdf) for all the recipes on the UNL site

* Cornell University Cooperative Extension-New York City's complete (http://nyc.cce.cornell.edu/nutrition/recipes/2008/NH%20Recipe%20Collection.pdf">Nutirion and Health Program Recipe Collection) (pdf)

* University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture's Cooperative Extension Service Departments Family and Consumer Sciences Programming
Recipes recipes for people with diabetes

DUer 1776Forever posted a link for the University of Maine Cooperative Extension in another thread.

More information about the Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service (Main website and Food, Nutrition and Health links)

The Cooperative Extension System is a nationwide, non-credit educational network. Each U.S. state and territory has a state office at its land-grant university and a network of local or regional offices. These offices are staffed by one or more experts who provide useful, practical, and research-based information to agricultural producers, small business owners, youth, consumers, and others in rural areas and communities of all sizes.

CSREES is the federal partner in the Cooperative Extension System. It provides federal funding to the system and, through program leadership, helps the system identify and address current issues and problems.

Food bank checklist

* Print out the flier below and make copies for your friends, family or co-workers to take with you when you go grocery shopping.

* surreptitiously leave copies at the grocery store!

(You don't have to pick up everything on the list, just remember to pick up something.)

* Please support candidates and policies that guarantee livable wages.

[EFerrari]

1. Great checklist. K&R

[ColbertWatcher]

4. Thank you. n/t

[AspenRose]

2. Bookmarking, K&R!

MUCH better than being trampled at a Wal-Mart

[ColbertWatcher]

5. Good point.

Also, you might not need to bookmark as I post it every Friday with any new info added from the previous week.

Thank you for the kick and rec!

[CrispyQ]

3. Thanks for the list!

I never would hvae thought of feminine hygiene products, but now that you mention it, they are expensive!

[ColbertWatcher]

6. You're welcome.

I didn't know either, but the first week we did this someone suggested that they (along with other personal items) be added on the check list.

[rhett o rick]

7. Great list, great post. Don't forget to donate time if you can. Also pet food. People struggling

to buy food also need to feed their pets. I made a deal with a owner/operator local pet food store to donate some samples and pet food near pull date to local food bank. Clients are very glad to be able to feed their pets.

As stated above money is the most effective as the food bank can buy in bulk and get special deals. Diapers are always needed.

[ColbertWatcher]

10. Thank you for the reminder about pet food! I will add that for next week's post! n/t

[rhett o rick]

8. Speaking of recipes the Washington State Chef's Assoc recently put together a cook book

for food bank clients. Recipes to utilize typical items found at food banks. Chef Plemmons, who is feature in the linked article, is a board member of a local food bank in Bremerton, Bremerton Foodline. If interested see bremertonfoodline.org.

http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2008/nov/21/from-food-bank-shelves-surprisingly-fare/

[ColbertWatcher]

11. Thank you for the link! I will add it to next week's post. n/t

[SeattleGirl]

9. Thank you for putting that list in your post.

MrSG and I were talking yesterday about how bad things are at the food banks, and wanted to pick up some things for one of our local banks. The list will be a good guide.

[ColbertWatcher]

12. You're welcome. n/t

[GentryDixon]

13. I donated time on Wednesday at our local Food Bank.

My sister and I went early and helped stock shelves. The FFA (Future Farmer's of America) from the local high school collected 2 tons of food that needed to be stocked. They brought the food in with a fork lift on pallets. We had been stocking for about three hours from previous donations before the FFA delivered . It was very encouraging, as our town is very small. As we stocked others were filling orders for families. We did not make a dent in the total donations, but plan to go back next week to help.

Points to keep in mind when donating:

Tying the plastics bags, which I have always done, makes it more difficult for the workers to unpack the bags. I have no fingernails left from trying to rip open the bags.

Do not overload bags. We had to walk quite a distance from where the food was dropped to where we stocked.

Powdered milk was not on the list provided, but is very appreciated by large families. It is also good for making soup bases in lieu of canned soups.

If you wouldn't eat the food, please don't assume others will. We were instructed to toss cans dented around the seal. I found a can with an expiration date of 2004!

[rhett o rick]

16. Don't throw away outdated canned food. I also volunteer on Wednesdays.

Outdated canned food is still good. It may lose some food value but is not harmful. Dented cans are ok also if they aren't leaking. Bulging cans are bad and should be thrown away. We always are short of powdered milk, good recommendation.

[GentryDixon]

18. I didn't throw it away.

I put it aside for someone smarter than me to make the decision. I do not know the disposition of that particular can.

I must say I once had a jar of Kraft Parmesan Cheese in my fridge that was about 8 years past the expiration date. My sister-in-law visited me from North Carolina and found it. She kidded me about it, but I told her I was still standing, so put it on the table and shut up! She still ribs me about that 20 years after the fact, and I am still standing. :)

[Undercurrent]

14. Thank you!

The (only) supermarket in my area has a huge bin of filled paper grocery bags near the check-out for the food bank. You can add one to your shopping cart for a cut rate, flat charge of $10. The store picks up the extra. Every time I shop I buy a bag. I wish I could do more. The store also donates all the day old baked goods, not so pretty fruits and veggies etc to the food bank.

Our little food bank is one very small room in the basement of the community center by the school, and they are open once a week. They are really struggling. The demand has exploded, and donations are down as so many folks who usually donate are in sad financial shape themselves. Now the weekly line stretches way out into the parking lot, and while they strictly ration the amount each person gets, sometimes they run out and people at the end of the line go without.

A few years ago, before I moved into my little, rent free 'housette' on my dad's property, I was paying high rent, plus several hundred dollars a month on medication, and bi weekly lab tests. As a consequence I frequently went to the food bank. It was a life saver, and I'm very grateful for that.

[tigereye]

15. thanks for the reminder! It's so important right now.

I have the form from the food bank here to send out.

:hi:

[rhett o rick]

17. Did anyone mention co-ops and gleaning? Buy local and utilize co-ops and donate any extra food.

Also gleaning is big in some places. I plan on looking into it locally. For example there is a lot of fruit that goes to waste laying on the ground that you might be able to use.

For a great documentary on gleaning see "The Gleaners and I".

[rhett o rick]

19. I get local dentists to donate toothpaste and toothbrushes. nm